Artemis Fowl: Operation Opal
by standingcorrected
Summary: The objective was to capture Koboi. But as with every typical Fowlesque adventure, things go awry. Plus it doesn't help that Artemis' hormones haven't exactly gone away yet. PostTTP, pairing: well, find out yourself -- HEREBY DISCONTINUED --
1. Like Old Times

**Complete Summary: ** The objective was to capture Koboi. But as with every typical Fowlesque adventure, things go awry, relationships are put to the test, and plans get horribly dangerous. Plus it doesn't help that Artemis' hormones haven't exactly gone away yet. Post TimeParadox. Reviews are loved, adored, craved. Rating may change.

**AN: My first fanfiction! Hope you like. The pairing is obvious, really. Heh.**

**Disclaimer: All characters, inventions, so on so forth belong to Eoin Colfer. And Eoin, in turn, belongs to his momma. xD**

**Review, comments are greatly appreciated since I am making this whole thing up as I go and want to know how to go on about doing this fic…**

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Chapter 1 – Like Old Times

Artemis fingered the coin delicately, as if it wasn't already worn down enough after all the havoc it had weathered.

Artemis wore the little half-ounce of gold on every adventure. When nervous about whether their heist on Jon Spiro would succeed, he would twirl the coin like a worry bead. When Opal led them in a merry dance along Haven's underground chutes, he wished he had the medallion with him. After fighting demons in Limbo, he took comfort of the fact that the coin on the pendant around his neck was still there. And it had also been there when rescuing Jayjay, so needless to say it had gone through_ a lot_ and did not look so shiny anymore. Still, Holly did not even inquire whether he wanted a replacement. They both new the large sentimental value this little coin held. For the both of them. Smart fairy.

He was grateful for the chamomile tea he received from Butler. In fact, considering what had gone on in the last three days/few hours/eight years, he deserved it. The only thing stopping him from going to Blackrock Spa was the fact that he needed to do some thinking.

The morning sun shone brightly high in the sky; it was astonishing that it hadn't reached its full potential. A small shadow of the moon was still there, a hollow shell of itself, struggling to stay up. But only one of them would win the endless battle that took place every dusk and dawn.

He heard the distant chatter of his family playing in the stables, the happy neighing of the Fowl's exotic Arabians. He wondered when was the last time he had such time to enjoy these luxuries.

_When I'm not saving the world from demons or from deranged pixies, _he thought. _Amazing. My mindset and my motivations and my conscience have all taken quite a turn in just about two years. People pay for years of seminars to go through this change._

And yet he was feeling some sort of happiness. He couldn't put a finger on what was causing this strange high.

_Perhaps it's the fact that I, Artemis Fowl, have saved my mother?_ He thought. _No, that's not it._

_Perhaps it's the fact that I've saved a species from extinction?_

_No, not that either._

He was growing frustrated, as would you if you were a juvenile genius and could not even work out what was causing your joy.

_Perhaps it's because of the kiss?_

'Hurkk,' said Artemis, half-choking with surprise. _Where had_ that _come from? _He opened his hand and looked down at the gold coin the elf had given him. She had done so much, for Haven, for her friends, for him. As guilt curled around his stomach, he knew that he didn't really deserve her forgiveness. He didn't deserve the fact that she was still friends with him. He didn't deserve the kiss.

His hand closed shut again, so tightly his knuckles turned white.

_What was that supposed to mean? Nothing. The kiss meant_ nothing_. It was merely a side-effect of the time stream, it's just puberty. It can't happen again, because we're not even from the same species. It can't happen again, because she's a full grown 80-year-old lady and I'm an adolescent. It can't happen again, because she_ doesn't_ love me and neither do I._

_It won't happen again._

Artemis Fowl didn't even manage to convince himself. He groaned aloud. He couldn't wait for this blasted puberty to go away.

-

**A LEP Shuttle over the sea, some time earlier**

Foaly's new invention – and he was very proud of it. A streamlined, teardrop shaped stealth spy shuttle, which, using antigravity technology, was able to stay in the sky with minimal use of fuel. What's more, it had a coating of stealth ore and cam foil that could turn the shuttle invisible. Well, not invisible exactly, but it would vibrate out of the visible spectrum so gently the passengers wouldn't even notice, and so efficiently that there wasn't even a heat haze where it was in the sky. (Just don't tell anyone that he got the idea from Opal's shuttle.)

It wouldn't even show up on any human satellite radars whatsoever. It had a lot of engineering genius put into it's making, and it could fly, swim and burrow too – a large version of the Critters, if you will. So it could be used in Atlantis, Haven or on the surface. He had told Wing Commander Vinyaya all this when she had asked. She'd been happy with, 'It's a new shuttle.'

This was its first test run before it was named and, although this sort of safety procedures weren't supposed to have passengers on board, it was the last available shuttle and anyway, Vinyaya was a brilliant pilot. Still, Foaly had been reluctant to part with it and when he did, the centaur warned her with an uncharacteristic glint in his eyes, 'Destroy this baby and so help me I will never ever let you test my prototypes again.'

So now Holly, No1 and his hulking bodyguards were flying home from the Fowl Manor after their latest escapade, and the little warlock wasted no time in asking the Captain cheeky questions.

'So, Holly…' was his opening line. 'How was your _honeymoon_ with Artemis?'

The elf in question turned to glare at No1. 'Very funny, demon. You know I still haven't repaid you for that wedding crack.' But as she reached for her Neutrino, No1's bulky gnome bodyguards stared daggers at her. 'Fine, fine,' she muttered. 'I wasn't really going to blast him.'

No1 giggled. 'My not-so-sincere apologies about the joke, Captain Short, but you were keeping so quiet. I had to ask you _something_.' He prodded her with one stubby digit. 'A penny for your thoughts?'

Holly snorted. She couldn't tell him the truth: That she'd been thinking about how dumb it was of her to kiss Artemis, and how she_ knew_ that would have some disastrous repercussions in the future. She also couldn't tell him that she was thinking about taping his mouth shut, in case his bodyguards overreacted.

So instead she said, 'Just thinking about what happened.'

'Mind being more specific?'

'Just thinking about how funny you looked dunked in animal fat.'

No1 had to resist puking at the thought. 'I liked your first answer better. But seriously, Holly.'

'Nothing much. Nothing you have to worry about. Anyway, I'll tell you after I get rested, okay?' Holly suddenly felt exhausted. It was as if her tiredness had spent the whole day chasing her and finally pinned her down. She felt like curling up and just letting her aching muscles calm down. Thankfully, No1 gave up interrogating her and resumed making virtual miniature monkeys dance on his palm.

And then she heard a beep. She saw Commander Vinyaya turn her head and press a button, and Foaly's face appeared on a large, twelve inch LCD television in the cockpit and in the passenger lounge. His face was grim.

'Bad news, everyone. No, scratch that. Horrible, terrible, calamitous, _disastrous _news.'

Vinyaya frowned, put on her hands-free headset, and spoke into the microphone for Foaly and her passengers to hear: 'What is it, pony?'

Foaly chewed his lip, and actually _ignored_ the pony remark. 'Care to guess?'

Silence. And then, a sharp intake of breath, and Holly's voice: 'No- No, it can't be. Opal?'

Foaly nodded. 'Opal Koboi…Has escaped.'

And suddenly Holly Short went deaf, and Foaly's mouth was moving and the waves underneath her were crashing but all she could feel now was the crawling tendrils of cold dread work its way up her spine and suffocate her.

**Fowl Manor, an hour later**

Artemis was pacing the conference room. He had received a call from Holly via the fairy communicator. So now the shuttle was changing course and heading back here, where they could formulate a plan to, once again, save the world from an evil deranged genius. Just like old times.

A Council Meeting was to be called and broadcasted to the manor, and then it would be up to him to tell the People that his mother now knew of them. It wouldn't be easy. Thankfully, though, Angeline Fowl was told in advance of this important gathering and had ushered the family to go on an excursion, leaving Artemis at home to 'study for his midterms'. It was just as well that the exams were around the corner, really. Otherwise there would've been no other good excuse. And he knew that because he was a genius. But then again, he seemed to be getting into tangles with every smart person above and under the ground and he wondered if his intellect was really that great, after all.

He heard a _whoosh_ from outside, the pneumatic hiss of a shuttle landing. He walked over to the door, just in time to hear the bell ring. Grasping the latch, he opened the door.

Wing Commander Vinyaya stepped in, and everyone followed suit. 'Foaly will start the meeting with the Council and everyone involved in about ten minutes. The Conference Hall, I presume?'

Artemis nodded.

'Very well then. Now, I hope you don't mind, but I'd like something to drink. It's been a particularly stressful day.'

Artemis nodded, and then looked to No1. 'You know about Opal?'

The demon nodded. 'Oh yes. Immediately after the demon relocation I read up about her. Dangerous pixie, she is.'

'You could say that again.'

As Artemis' bodyguard, Butler directed the Commander to the cooler, No1 and his bodyguards walked off in the direction of the conference hall, leaving Holly and Artemis in the corridor. They stood there for a long, solid, silent moment before Artemis brought himself to look at her.

Uncomfortable with the silence, Holly spoke. 'Uh…I've gave a brief summary of our latest…adventure, so you'll be spared of doing that.' She nudged him playfully. 'Of course, I left out some of it.'

'…Holly…I-…There's…Well there's something I need to tell you.' _Right. Time to tell her what mother knows._

Holly smiled at him, suspicious, curious, surprised. 'What?'

Artemis opened his mouth to speak, checked himself, and closed it again. 'Never mind,' and then, hastily, he added, 'I'll tell you and everyone else when the meeting starts.'

Holly's suspicious look was then cut off abruptly. She smiled. 'Worried, are you?'

'Isn't everyone?'

'I suppose so. But, hey – we've been through worse, and even if we die…Well…it's bound to happen sooner or later. Why look so nervous?'

_Because there's so much I haven't done!_ Artemis wanted to scream. _There's so much left to see, to do, to tell you. I'm barely an adult, and I've faced death too many times to count. This is no way for me to live._

But, instead, out loud, he said: 'I don't know, Holly…It feels like now I have some weight on my shoulders. I feel like I have a responsibility. I feel that my brilliant plan which has yet to exist is the only thing that is preventing Opal from taking over the world. That's the stress I've been feeling for the past two years, Holly. I don't know how much more I can take.'

Holly's facial features changed to a look of sincere empathy. She opened her mouth to speak, but then Artemis grasped her shoulders, and he looked into her eyes for one long moment. And Holly saw. She saw and understood. These were no longer the eyes of a juvenile genius. These were the eyes of a scared, fourteen year old boy who didn't know what to do.

Then his head dropped, as if his neck muscles suddenly ceased to work, and he inhaled one shuddering breath, hands shaking as he did so. Then he exhaled. Then Holly took his shoulders in her palms, and Artemis looked up.

He looked up to see Holly's gentle smile, a smile that somehow comforted him. And he didn't know why. He also didn't know why Holly suddenly pulled him into a tight, ardent hug.

'…We'll both get through this, Arty. And even if we don't, we'll have died for honor. For a noble cause.

'And we'll die together, whatever happens.'

They stood there for a while. Longer than was necessarily merely friendly. And then Artemis, whose eyes were not exactly meeting Holly's anymore, said,

'Ten minutes are up.'

--

**AN: So, like it? No? Good, tell me why.**

**Next chapter is half-done. Review, review, review, please. :)**


	2. Initiation

**Edit: arrgh sorry for uploading and then taking it down again and doing that over and over and -**

**Sorry. was being nasty. So I had to keep editing it...**

**AN: Next chapter! Sorry for the delay. And thank you to all my supporters. Notice that I say supporters instead of reviewers. I know a couple of people who support me in this fanfiction although they have not reviewed (yet.) So here they are:**

**  
Many thanks to: ArtemisFowlForever, saturnz-moonlit-beauty, cmonkey90, Aussie-Muggle, AH4EVER, Missy Werecat, Nicholas (c'mon I know you like this story don't deny it), and Mom. :D Ya'll rock.**

**On with the story!  
**

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Chapter 2 - Initiation

Everyone was seated in the conference room, and the TV screens that once showed CNN and BCC news reports were now being fine-tuned by Foaly, who was hacking into the systems from underground. A webcam stood on the conference table, sending a live feed of the on goings in the room, and a microphone, so the Council could hear what they were saying. The mood in there was grim. Holly was thinking about what spurred her to declare that Artemis and she would die together with so much conviction, Artemis was thinking about how in the world he would tell everyone that Angeline Fowl now knew what was going on, and Wing Commander Vinyaya was having some argument with No1. Butler was present, standing silent and stoic, although his sister was not. The mood didn't brighten when Foaly broadcasted himself and the faces of the Council onto the screens.

Commander Trouble Kelp stood up at the head of the table. 'The infamous Artemis Fowl. So we meet, face to screen.'

The boy genius in question stood up. 'I presume you're the new commander?'

'Not quite so new – I've had this position for a while now. But yes. I am Commander Trouble Kelp.'

'I hope you don't take this as rude, but…Why the Council gathering present?'

'Well, the Council meeting was in ten minutes anyway and when they found out you were holding a conference they demanded to be involved. Everybody knows your status, Fowl. And everybody knows how much your…services will be invaluable to us in this crisis.'

Holly blinked in surprise. Trouble wasn't usually so formal. In fact, he was _never _this formal. His words didn't sound like it was coming from him at all. It sounded different, actually– forced. Maybe it was because of his distrust for Artemis – she knew the feeling. Or perhaps it was the situation, or the fact that he was now a commander – a heavy responsibility. Seemed like all her friends were changing. Trouble into a fine respected leader, No1 into an experienced warlock, and Artemis into a fine young adult.

Trouble cleared his throat, and began his speech.

'Now we all know Opal. She has tried to bankroll the goblin rebellion, killed our previous LEP Commander and has secretly been harvesting animal's brain fluids for her own perverted uses. That is exactly how twisted she is. We cannot take any chances.

'I presume you know about the Opal incident, but just so everyone is aware of the details, we were digging around the site where she was…_buried_, for the lack of a better term, and she left her helmet as a decoy and so the search was fruitless. She vanished. Disappeared.

'We don't know where she's gone, but the public has been told to keep an eye out for her. We're securing every single building in Haven, the first being Koboi Laboratories, but she's nowhere to be found.'

Breath intake. 'And that's about it. We are at a loss. The Atlantean authorities are offering whatever help they can offer, but we have no strategy, no foolproof plan.' He eyed Artemis pointedly. 'That's where you come in, Mud Boy.'

Artemis swallowed, looking at the expectant eyes all boring holes into him. He stood up, wondering why he felt so nervous when they had been through so much worse.

_OK. Steady now. Break the news gently. Build up to it. Don't just go blurting out what happened with Mother._

'My mother knows about the People now.'

Oops. Too late.

Sharp breaths and outraged mutterings and Trouble spitting with rage and Vinyaya staring slack jawed and tempers quickly snapping and Holly. _Holly. _Artemis turned to look at her. He shouldn't have. The sight of her face, surprised and angry and betrayed and hurt almost buckled him over.

'I can explain,' he said, regaining some composure. 'Opal possessed my mother when she was bedridden. When she left her body, her memories stayed. Which meant that Angeline has seen everything she saw, and that she now knows what happened, and that I was forced to tell her the truth.' He looked down. 'I don't know if I've done the right thing or not, but it's the only thing I could do.'

The tension in the room deflated considerably, but Artemis could hear disapproving mutterings from the Council. Instead of wincing, he balled his fists in annoyance. Typical Fowl. Always bucking the trend.

'But,' Artemis said, 'Since Angeline has seen what Opal had, we may get some valuable inside information from her. Unfortunately, squeezing information from her was not at the top of my priority list, so as of yet I have not gathered any information from my mother. Still, who knows what things the pixie might've done in the past eight years/three days.' He turned to Holly again, and he didn't like the way he did so: a little bit desperately. The elf's eyes were unreadable for a moment, then she frowned, worried.

'So what can your mother tell us?'

'She's out, with my father and siblings. I had to meet you in private, so…' He looked at his watch. 'She will probably be back after dinner.'

Trouble exhaled hotly through the nose, bull-like. 'We can't wait until then. Opal moves fast and we all know the time restraint. And so we need a plan now.' He looked at Artemis. 'I don't like to put you on the spot either, Artemis, but this is a very serious crisis. And frankly we're running out of geniuses,' he finished, much to the annoyance of Foaly.

'Genii,' he corrected.

'I know we need a plan. Unfortunately, since this is all so last minute, I have no foolproof strategy as of yet. But I'm sure we can work something out.'

No murmurs of agreement. Morale was looking low.

'The one thing that Opal would want to do now is to break our present Opal out. And rest assured she knows that there are two Opals in this equation. So what does she need?'

Blank looks.

'An _informant_. Narcissist though she may be, she needs someone to fill her in on what has happened during the past eight years and how she would go about breaking herself out. And who do you think that would be?'

Silence. Then, from the Council table, Chairman Cahartez said: 'The Brill twins!'

'Precisely. The two henchfairies. Where are they now, Foaly?'

The centaur frowned for a moment. 'Ah…Well since they're celebrities they were in the papers a lot so it would be easy for Opal to track them down. They've got good lawyers, too, so they were given minimum sentence and are now at the downtown Haven Prison, which is funny because the name is a bit of an oxymoron if you notice, because, you see, -'

'I get it, Foaly,' Artemis interrupted. Nervous rambling was not a good sign. Nervous rambling was one of the pathetic ways Foaly tried to mask his anxiety.

Trouble drew a long breath. 'So, what Opal will do is break the two of them out of prison, squeeze information from them, and then proceed to rescue the present Opal who is planning to unleash a horrible wave of revenge on us all. Think you can handle that, Fowl?'

A vampire smile from the said genius.

'It would be my pleasure.'

-

Preparing for the day ahead was not easy. It being a weekend, Artemis' parents wanted to see him as much as possible. So they had to be diverted.

Foaly worked into the wee hours of night to create a sim. Then he broke into Fowl Manor ('it was child's play, really,') and sent a runner to deliver the Holograph package to Artemis at midnight, who had no trouble setting it up by himself and leaving a message to his parents because genius though Foaly may be, he could not give the hologram the gift of speech. So Artemis left a note:

_Dear Mother and Father,_

_I have a terrible cough. It started about two days ago, I presume, and so yesterday while you were all out on the trip I had Butler drive me to the doctor to get a Medical Certificate to explain my leave from school. I was advised not to chat as that might let the irritants agitate my throat further and worsen my condition. I'm sorry but I can't talk for a while._

_Artemis_

Artemis hardly got any sleep that night. Amidst all the turning and tossing, worry creased his brow. He had dark rings around his puffy eyes the next morning. Thankfully, the shuttle was late and he could catch a nap.

The plan was simply to mind-wipe Mervall and Descant. That way, Opal could not squeeze any information out of them and if she tried to break into the prison, they would be waiting there, waiting for her to fall into the hunter's trap. But this would have repercussions. Mind-wiping was usually reserved for the Mud People. Doing it to one of their own wasn't exactly _illegal _par-say, as it had been understood to be useful during certain rare police operations but you had to get approval from the higher-ups. And knowing the higher-ups they are generally a reluctant bunch. As with every politician with something to lose.

Artemis didn't flinch in his sleep as he envisioned the plan in his sleep.

_So we break a few rules. Illegal is always faster._

-

Butler took a moment to look at his employer sprawled on the couch. Sure, for the first hour or so he had been curled up in a warm ball, but he must have been really tired because he looked like someone picked him up and dumped him on the sofa. In fact, he didn't much like to sleep on the sofa but his parents were still in the house and it wouldn't do for them to see both the holograph and the real person. So he had to sleep in one of their many lounges. And as he predicted, his parents didn't lay a foot into the room. Why would they? There was nobody to attend to there. For all they knew, Butler was having a go in the gym.

Still, the manservant couldn't resist observing Artemis sleeping. No thought lines in his brow. He looked peaceful. Not at all like a criminal genius mastermind.

'Artemis. Artemis, they're here.'

Butler shook him gently on the shoulder. Not too roughly tough. A grumpy sleep-deprived employer would have no qualms cutting your salary.

Artemis stirred slightly, then sat upright. 'Mnn. Alright. I'm up. Where are they? The back door?'

'Yes. So let's get going, shall we?'

Artemis stood up, brushed some imaginary dirt from his trousers, and when his eyes opened again they were determined, with steel in them.

'Yes,' he said. 'Let's.'

The same unnamed prototype shuttle was patiently waiting outside for them, and Artemis and Butler were greeted by the grim faces of the gang.

'Butler? I suppose you have an alibi?' asked Holly.

'Indeed,' the manservant replied, trying to ease himself into a seat with some effort. 'I warded off Mr. and Ms. Fowl by saying I had to do some bodyguard stuff – a sort of test to see if I still deserve my blue diamond. All horse manure, of course. The test doesn't exist.'

'And that diamond will probably be with you until the day you die,' Holly pointed out, smiling.

'Which might be soon,' Foaly said, flickering to life on the same LCD television screen. He fine-tuned the settings, then spoke again. 'Sorry for being so morbid. But I'm pretty sure you would too, if your school nemesis is threatening to destroy fairy civilization as we know it.'

'Actually,' said Artemis, 'the past Opal would have no recollection of her plot to bring the two worlds together. But if she manages to bust out our Opal in Atlantis, then you'll be certain that's what she'll do.'

'And then she'll fry our brains like sea slugs,' Holly added, shuddering.

'Speaking of food,' said a hoarse male voice, 'Are there any snacks in this dump?'

The owner of the voice poked his head around the bathroom door, a cheesy, greedy grin on his squat face. His hair stuck out in a wild halo, stretching down to his beard where the remnants of insects could be seen.

'Mulch,' Artemis greeted. 'I was wondering where you were.'

'What? You expect me to help on your ludicrous adventures all the time, Mud Boy?' Replied the smiling dwarf, plonking his behind on a plush leather seat. 'I'm only doing this because I expect a large reward. A _stupendous_ reward, actually.'

Artemis smiled; Mulch's complete lack of anxiety lightened the mood in the lounge considerably. But as the shuttle took off into the air, he remembered those familiar words from eight years ago and a sick feeling crawled into his stomach and Artemis suddenly realized, with some dread, that Opal could've…

'Mulch,' he called, his tone undercut with undeniable tension. 'How's Jayjay?'

The dwarf frowned. 'Who?'

Artemis cleared his throat, hoping that Diggum's confusion was due to poor pronunciation.

'Jayjay. The lemur. The silky sifaka lemur.'

Mulch snapped his fingers, comprehension sparking to life in his eyes. Artemis gave a huge sigh in relief.

'Oh! That lemur! The one which the LEP are using to clone…Yeah… I saw him in the e-newspapers.'

'Seems like you two have become pretty good friends. Are you able to visit him?'

Mulch's smile disappeared completely.

'Huh?'

'Well? Don't you recall? You seemed to quite like him.'

'Uh…listen, I don't know where you've been, but…The only fellas who can get their hands on that monkey now are those snotty scientists in the cloning lab. I don't know him and I've never laid a finger on him.'

Mulch stared at him blankly. The others stared at Mulch blankly.

And then, from Holly: 'Oh gods.'

And Artemis swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.

-

It was dark, she could grant you that.

Dark, damp, and the smell was musky. The walls were dripping with some unidentifiable liquid. Plenty of places to hide a spy camera. The worst hiding area she'd ever seen. The fairy cursed herself mentally, wondering why she didn't spend some time on the décor. But then again, she only imagined coming down here in her wildest dreams. A normal person would never think of it at all. But she was not a normal person.

The whole affair made her more determined to kill the Fowl boy once and for all. And her time was limited too – she doubted time-travel permitted a long visa. The odds were against her.

But still, a glimmer of hope still remained. There was that chance, and if everything went according to plan, she would be able to extract her revenge.

Pulling the mask over her, she felt the prickling as the material moved, forming another face on Opal's fine features. The ends edged off into her own skin, and the color of her skin changed. The perfect disguise.

Opal smiled wolfishly.

She would extract her revenge in the most painful way possible.

-

**Sucky eh? I know, it's got almost nothing in it, and I planned to put in some action, but blah. Sorry! The next chapter will most certainly have action, I'm sure. : Also, dun dun dun! Where is Opal? :O STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT.**

**  
Also, another note…**

**When I first planned this fanfic, my intention was to use it as a guinea pig – to see how my writing skills went. Not so that I could make a noteworthy, **_**good**_** sequel that is on par with Eoin's skills. So if anything, I would dearly love if you comment on how I write and whether the characters are indeed in character instead of how the plot goes. Because, as the plot **_**does **_**go, it does not go very well. :D Make sense?**


	3. Chapter 3

(( AN: oh my god, an update, do my eyes deceive me?, and so on so forth. Spazz all you like guys, but the truth is this: THIS STORY HAS BEEN REVIVED.

ch'yeah. bring out the champagne. ))

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-

All of the People know of Haven's underground chutes. However, none know about _Opal's_ underground chutes.

Yes, Opal had a network of underground chutes, expertly and widely tunneled out of igneous rocks. Or perhaps chutes is the wrong word to call it – _chambers _or _catacombs _would've been more appropriate. The place was, after all, stocked with everything a basic home should have – water and electricity supplies (from Opal's own generator), food that could last a decent while, and decent places to sleep and rest.

The place had a long, but not famous, history. From the moment Opal decided that she wanted to rule the entire world as we know it, she started making plans, and backup plans to go with it. The precautions in case Cudgeon would betray her was one fine example. The catacombs were another. Catacombs under her laboratory and other various selected places, the one place she would go to hide out should the LEP try to track her down.

Curled in her own hoverchair in one of the few bedrooms, Opal smiled and complimented herself.

'You genius,' she said to the reflection in the dressing mirror. 'An underground hideout – brilliant.'

Perhaps it was one of the side-effects of time travel, or that she herself had just grown madder, but Opal's schizophrenia was becoming more severe. Still, this was the least of her worries, should she decide to classify it as a worry. There were bigger nails in her coffin. Nails by the name of Artemis Fowl & Co.

Opal decided that she didn't much like looking at the mirror anymore. The new face she had on wasn't as pretty as the real thing, she decided.

The new face was a very accurate mask of another fairy, precise down to the last pimple. Beryl Brill, mother of the Brill twins and frequent visitor to the jail. She didn't look half bad, but when you had a superiority complex like Opal, everyone was hideous…Except yourself.

She had enough time to work out her plan properly while waiting for her magic to come back slowly. It was quite hard to recognize Opal now, what with the tawny eye contacts and the gel-mask. The only thing that gave her away somewhat was the way the slim, hourglass shape of the body didn't quite match Beryl's rather plump build, and her voice. But those were all minor obstacles, ones she could easily shove out of the way.

Opal turned back to the mirror and stroked her own cheek, trying to resist the temptation of clawing off her rather tight fitting mask.

'Soon, Artemis Fowl. Soon.'

-

'The plan will still proceed,' Artemis proclaimed.

'You've got more fake cheer than I imagined,' retorted the centaur, grim-faced. Artemis shot him a poisonous glare.

'Look. No matter how Opal erased Mulch's memory, the plan will still proceed. We must act as if we don't know what's going on, as if we're bumbling fools, while in the background our exquisitely laid trap will lure her in.'

Mulch snorted. 'You make horrible motivation speeches, Mud Boy.'

Artemis sighed. 'Thank you, Mulch. I try.'

In truth the 'motivation speech' didn't have much impact, perhaps none at all. All of them were either feeling glum or angry, in Holly's case both. She spent the last few hours and the next few feeling despondent about this big overwhelming threat, incensed over that detestable Opal, and gloomy when she remembered Julius' murder. Not necessarily in that order either.

She was relieved when they saw the docking lights; her grieving session was finally over. Stepping out from the shuttle, she took a deep breath and almost regretted it. Underground air was sometimes worse than stale shuttle air, and it was nowhere as sweet as the oxygen from the surface.

She frowned. It seemed like she was growing increasingly dissatisfied with life underground. It was to be expected, she guessed, having spent so much time above. And to think, Majors rarely got to go to the surface.

She blanched, remembering. _Major._ The word clanged in her head like church bells, deafening and painful. She'd forgotten.

Holly was just about to start brooding over it when Artemis tapped her on the shoulder. 'Holly. We should go. Opal will not wait.'

Upon hearing her name Holly straightened. 'Right. Let's move out.'

-

(( Nope, I lied. This isn't chapter three. This is actually only the first half of chapter three. The whole third chapter would be this and the added action scene, but I decided, what the heck, if I stuck around to write the action scene I'd lose all my motivation and this story would die once more. So this is actually the first half of the chapter.

And now that I've uploaded it, I don't think I'll have the heart to abandon it again. So, look out for the other half soon...kay?

And my most sincere apologies for leaving this fic for like, half a year? (probably more). This was always a guinea pig to test out my writing skills. Never meant to be a serious thing :P Forgiveth thou?

-Key

PS/ yes, Mulch's memory of the adventure in TTP is GONE. Erased, I'd like to confirm this with you guys. This - is - canon. Check chapter 13. ))


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